Men's Basketball 12.31.24

@DetroitMercyMBB Entertains Robert Morris To Start 2025

Men's Basketball 12.31.24

@DetroitMercyMBB Entertains Robert Morris To Start 2025

Freshman TJ Nadeau and the Titans will look to start 2025 with a win.

DETROIT (12/31/2024) -- After four straight games on the road, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will start the new year at home as the Titans host Robert Morris on Thursday, Jan. 2.

Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. on Dick Vitale Court in Calihan Hall and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN App as Dan Hasty and Jeremy Otto have the call.

It will be Earl Cureton Day as the first 150 fans will receive an Earl T-Shirt and remember buttons will be handed out.

Cureton passed away back on Feb. 4, a day after broadcasting the Titans and Colonials' last meeting. He is a member of both schools' Hall Of Fame.

He played two seasons at RMU, the second of which (1976-77) was the first as an NCAA Division I institution. That year, he scored 446 points and pulled down a single-season school record 274 rebounds and remains the only RMU player in program history to average a double-double, posting averages of 17.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest in 1976-77. He transferred and helped the Titans to a 36-19 in his two years, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 1979. He averaged 20.0 points and 9.1 rebounds to lead the team in 1980. He also sits ninth on the all-time Titan list in blocks with 79.

He was selected in the third round of the 1979 NBA Draft by Philadelphia and played 12 years, earning rings with Philadelphia in 1983 and Houston in 1994.

Detroit Mercy has dropped five in a row as the Titans come into the game at 5-10 overall and 1-3 in the Horizon League. Junior Orlando Lovejoy posted his second straight game and third of the season reaching 20 points as he just had 23 at Youngstown State, while a pair of rookies grabbed a career-high in rebounds, with Nate Johnson pulling down 10 and Grant Gondrezick II registering eight.

Robert Morris has won three in a row as the Colonials enter the Motor City at 9-5, 1-2 in the HL after beating NKU 97-93 in triple overtime. RMU's two losses in league play came against Youngstown State and at Purdue Fort Wayne.

The Titans' two-game homestand will finish up on Saturday as the red, white and blue welcome Milwaukee.

Tickets to all Titan games can be purchased here.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Despite being 208 miles apart, this will be just the 10th career meeting between the two schools as the Titans are 6-3 all-time and 5-3 since the Colonials joined the Horizon League in 2020.
RMU has won the last three meetings, but UDM is 4-1 all-time at home, with three of those wins coming in the pandemic season of 2020-21.
The first match-up was back in 2009 in upstate New York in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

TOUGH FOES IN THE NON-CONFERENCE

The Titans will play a few home games in the non-conference campaign. Three will take place in November, marking the most home games since they had three in the 2018-19 season.
Overall, the Titans' 10 DI opponents are 77-47 (.615) on the year, highlighted by Rhode Island (11-1), Wisconsin (10-3), Davidson (10-3), Loyola (9-4) and Wake Forest (9-4).

RUNNING THE OFFENSE

The Titans scored 90 points for the second time this season in their 98-89 road win at Eastern Michigan. They also won 91-52 versus Cleary to start the year.
The 98 points were the most since UDM recorded 99 in two overtimes at Robert Morris last year, the only time it was in the 90's.
UDM's 54.8% shooting against the Eagles was the best since hitting 59.6% (31-of-52) at Wright State last year, while the 17 assists were the second most on the year after the 19 against Cleary.
They nearly went over 50.0% again, ending with 48.3% (29-of-60) versus Purdue Fort Wayne, including 65.5% (19-of-29 overall and 9-of-14 from three) in the second half.
UDM also nailed a season-high 11 triples against the Mastodons, the most since connecting on 12 last year at Wright State.

NOT YOUR NBA GAME

The Titans are currently fourth in the Horizon League and 98th in the nation, hitting at 35.7% from downtown.
But a little different than in years past or today's professional game, UDM is 11th in the HL and 329th in DI connecting on 6.0 per game and 11th in the conference and 347th in the country with just 16.8 attempts per game.
In fact, the red, white and blue have made double-digit 3-pointers just once this season (11 vs. PFW) and three times going back to the start of last year (spanning 47 games).

DOMINATING THE GLASS

Detroit Mercy has owned the glass this year, outrebounding its opponents in 10 of its 15 games. The Titans are second in the Horizon League and 48th in the country with 39.6 rebounds per game, second in the HL and 46th in the country with 13.2 offensive boards, and fourth in the league and 128th in DI with a +3.8 rebounding average.
UDM registered a 48-31 tally at Wake Forest (14-6 on offense). The Titans outrebounded Ball State, 40-30, with 13 offensive and collected 15 of the last 20 rebounds in the contest to seal the win.
Detroit Mercy took the glass against Niagara, 49-28, the first time it had a margin of +20 or more since a 53-20 advantage at home over Youngstown State in 2016.
The Titans pulled down 53 rebounds in the season opener against Cleary, the most since the 53 they had against Youngstown State. They also edged Loyola, 40-39, which included 20 offensive caroms, and Tulsa, 47-44, 16-9 on offense.

GIVE US ONE MORE CHANCE

UDM's outstanding work on the glass has led to a 186-141 margin on second-chance points on the season.
Detroit Mercy had 20 second-chance points in the season opener against Cleary, 22 at Loyola, and tallied a 17-4 margin at Ball State and 18-6 versus Wright State.
Last year, UDM had just one game all season long with 15 second-chance points.

PLAYING SOME DEFENSE

In the win at Ball State, the Titans held a team under 60 points on the road for the first time since a 71-58 triumph at Milwaukee in 2021-22.
At Wake Forest, the Titans forced the Demon Deacons into missing 25 of their last 31 from behind the arc and 16 for their last 50 shots overall after starting the contest 8-of-11.
Against Tulsa, the defense held the Golden Hurricane into 8-of-25 (32.0%) from the field and 4-of-17 (23.5%) from three in the second half, while Purdue Fort Wayne was 6-of-26 from three in the second half and Wisconsin 7-of-35 from distance.

313 IS WHERE O WANTS TO BE

Junior Orlando Lovejoy hails from Detroit, evidenced by his 313 tattoo.
He has been remarkably consistent on offense and defense, scoring in double figures in 11 games, including three 20-point efforts, as well as grabbing at least three rebounds in 13 games and five on six occasions.
He also has at least three assists in 11 games and five or more in six, ranking fifth in the league with 4.0 per game, as well as at least one steal in 13 games with six multi-steal contests, including a career-high five at Loyola and four at Davidson and at NKU, and is second in the HL and 86th in DI with 1.93 steals per game.
Lovejoy is coming off back-to-back 20-point affairs with 23 to go with four boards and three steals at Youngstown State after 20 points with four rebounds and three assists at Wisconsin.
He had a team-high 16 points with five rebounds, four assists, and four steals at NKU. The guard tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals against Wright State, and that was after 18 points and a career-high nine assists against Purdue Fort Wayne. He recorded 18 points with seven assists and three steals at EMU, tying the game with a layup with just three ticks on the clock.
He scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line (no 3-pointers) against Rhode Island, with seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals and had a team-high 15 points, eight boards, and handed out six assists at Wake Forest.
On the year, he leads the team at 14.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists, shooting 41.8% overall and 82.1% at the line, ranking in the top 10 in the HL in scoring (8th), assists (5th), assist-to-turnover ratio (10th - 60a - 35t), steals (2nd), field-goal percentage (10th), free-throw percentage (5th) and minutes played (4th - 33:34).

GEETER READY TO MAKE HIS OWN LEGEND

After stops at Providence and Eastern Michigan, junior Legend Geeter has found himself at home in his hometown.
He has been in double figures six times, including five in a row at one point.
At Davidson, he netted 17 points - hitting a career-high five 3-pointers - along with three rebounds, two steals and a block.
Geeter had a great opening week of conference play, scoring 10 points, grabbing eight rebounds with two assists and a block against Wright State, and that was after a career game, netting a career-high 22 points, going 9-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from distance ringing in the game-winning triple against Purdue Fort Wayne, while corralling nine boards.
He scored 14 points, along with three boards, three assists, and a steal at EMU, after 11 points, six rebounds, and a career-high four steals with a block against Rhode Island. Earlier in the year, he recorded 14 points against Niagara, going 3-of-5 from the field and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line.
On the year, he is averaging 8.7 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 44.4% (44-of-99) overall and 12-of-26 from three.
Geeter - who was coached in high school by Titan assistant coach LaMonta Stone and was a top-50 recruit in the nation - started his career in the BIG EAST at Providence but did not see action in any games and spent the last two seasons at EMU.

JUST KUAC THIS

Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac was off to a strong start in his second Titan season but missed three games with a knee injury.
He returned at Youngstown State and tied his career-high with nine rebounds and scoring seven points.
He posted a team-high 18 points, connecting on 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-7 from three, against Toledo and had a 13-point performance at Ball State, where he was 5-of-10 overall and 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
Kuac netted 11 points with six boards against Purdue Fort Wayne and had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal versus Niagara.
For his career, Kuac has made 110 field goals, 53 of those from three, including 34 of his 62 field goals as a Titan.
Kuac missed the first 12 games of last year's season, recovering from an injury he sustained before arriving at UDM. However, he was never fully healthy, recording 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 19 games.
He showed what he could do when healthy at Milwaukee, shooting 9-of-19 and 7-of-13 from three en route to a career-high 27 points, a season-high eight rebounds, a career-tying three steals, and a block.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

Freshman TJ Nadeau was in double figures for the fourth time this season, ending with 11 points versus Wright State.
Nadeau started HL play with nine points, five rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal against Purdue Fort Wayne and had eight points at Youngstown State.
He had a season-best 16 points at EMU, hitting 5-of-7 from the field, 2-of-2 from distance, and 4-of-4 at the line.
Before that, he posted 13 points with a season-best nine boards at Wake Forest and netted his first double-digit effort with 10 points against Toledo.
As a rookie, he is averaging 7.2 points, with 19 of his 37 field goals coming from behind the arc, the most triples on the squad, and connecting on one in 12 of his 15 contests.

NATE THE GREAT

Freshman Nate Johnson has held his own as a rookie on the hardwood, registering five games in double figures, 12 games with three or more rebounds, and five games with at least two assists.
On the year, he is averaging 6.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists, shooting 35.5% overall.
He just pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds at YSU, adding six points and three assists. He scored 11 points with four rebounds and a block at NKU after registering 10 points with four rebounds at Davidson and 12 points, three rebounds and two assists against Wright State.
Johnson was named the HL Freshman of the Week on Nov. 11 as he showed his all-around skills in his first three collegiate games, averaging 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists, hitting 10-of-23 (43.5%) from the field, with four triples.
He started his collegiate career with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists in the win over Cleary. He came back with 13 points and three boards at Loyola and nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the come-from-behind win over Niagara.

GIVE ME A GRANT

Redshirt freshman Grant Gondrezick II has really come on since the start of the year, reaching double figures in six of the last seven games after scoring just 16 total points in his first seven.
He started his scoring streak by stepping up when his team needed him at Eastern Michigan, posting a season-high 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal as he was 7-of-14 from the field, 2-of-4 from three, and 6-of-7 at the charity stripe.
He registered his second 20-point scoring game with 20 at Wisconsin, going 8-of-18 overall and 3-of-4 from three. He had 12 points with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals at NKU and ended with 13 points at Davidson. Before that, he recorded 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals against Wright State, and added 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists versus Purdue Fort Wayne.
His last time out, he had just four points, but pulled down a season-high eight rebounds with two assists and a steal at YSU.
He did not see any action at Elon last year, but was a high scorer at Benton Harbor, posting nearly 2,000 career points. As a senior, he netted 997 total points, averaging 25.3 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 steals.
His dad, Grant Gondrezick, played college basketball at Pepperdine and then two seasons in the NBA for the Suns, while his mother, Felicia, won the 1988 NCAA Championship at Louisiana Tech.
His older sister, Kalabrya, played college basketball at Michigan State, while his other sister, Kysre, was Miss Basketball in Michigan, played for Michigan and West Virginia and currently plays in the WNBA.
His uncle, Glen, his dad's brother, played at UNLV and spent six seasons in the NBA with the Knicks and Nuggets.

A DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR OKORO

Freshman Stephen Okoro talked about being a Dennis Rodman-type player and is averaging 3.9 rebounds on the season, with 26 on offense and 28 on defense.
He has at least three rebounds in 10 games, as he has three straight games with three boards at NKU, at Wisconsin, and at Youngstown State.
He pulled down a game-high nine boards against Tulsa, with four off the offensive glass.
He had four rebounds, two points, a block, and an assist in 10 minutes at Wake Forest and five rebounds with a block against Toledo.
Okoro had three points and a team-best six boards at Loyola and made an impact in his Titan debut against Cleary, coming away with a double-double of 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, connecting on 6-of-8 from the field.
He became the first Titan to have a double-double in his debut since senior Gerald Liddell at Purdue Fort Wayne in 2022, while the last freshman to accomplish the task was Marquis Moore at IUPUI in 2019.

PUTTING IN THE MILES

Freshman Miles Mitchell was a candidate to redshirt at the start of the season, but after not playing the first three games, he has come off the bench, providing a spark on offense and defense.
He has 23 rebounds in the last four games, grabbing seven at Wisconsin, a season-high eight with a block and a steal at NKU and six with a block at Davidson.
Mitchell finished with four points and a season-best three steals at YSU, had eight points and four rebounds in just 13 minutes against Rhode Island, and notched two points, four rebounds, an assist, and a block in 15 minutes of action at EMU.
He is 15-of-27 from the field (55.6%) on the year, with all of those field goals coming around the basket.